Nowadays, everyone feels concerned about data protection, and how organisations use your data- with or without their consent. And for good reason: over the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of DNS attacks. Cyber criminals have indeed realised that the DNS is one of the most discrete options if they want to carry out a cyber attack.

Over the past few years, enterprises have started realising that their system was inadequately equipped against data theft, and started to think about innovative solutions offering a real-time monitoring of their network traffic. Perhaps have you already been on the internet, searching “what is a DNS firewall” in order to find the right solution to prevent your precious data from being stolen and used without your consent? Here are some advice to help you in your process.

“What is a DNS firewall?”: the question every organisation should raise

As new sophisticated attacks have emerged, organisations have failed to adapt security solutions to protect their network. Moreover, traditional firewalls are completely powerless against these cyber-attacks. DNS comprises breaches and vulnerabilities, which makes it the perfect target for common DNS attacks, such as phishing, malware or tunneling. And the consequences of cyber attacks are not limited to data exfiltration. These attacks can be very damaging in a sector where protection of sensitive data is essential. As every industrial sector can become an easy target to DNS attacks, every organisation should wonder: “what is a DNS firewall?” and “how could I possibly protect more my customer data?”

A 2017 survey carried out by DDI vendor EfficientIP showed that the Financial Services sector was the most frequent target of DNS attacks- 39 per cent have been subjected to five or more DNS attacks in the past twelve months. But ironically, their methods to prevent these types of threats remains limited- and in some cases, outdated.

The consequences of DNS breaches can be dramatic for a company; in most cases, it involves the loss of sensitive data or intellectual property and brand damage. Fortunately, the introduction of new regulations, such as GDPR for European citizens, demonstrates the growing importance of protecting customer data as well as the necessity to keep IT services working effectively.

The advantages of DNS firewalls: looking beyond traditional solutions

Traditional firewalls- and even next-generation firewalls– are mostly ineffective against DNS attacks, and allow DNS exfiltration without triggering any alarm. But despite these impending threats, many enterprises still rely on traditional solutions like these, which were not designed against the newest methods used by hackers.

As new solutions have emerged, IT managers should really ask themselves “what is a DNS firewall” and “why should my business need one?” Here are three reasons why industries should implement a DNS firewall:

They improve your threat visibility, allowing you to detect malicious attacks and data theft more easily;

They adapt to the evolving threat landscape.

They provide advanced threat reporting.

So, stop relying only on traditional firewalls and try to know more about DNS firewalls by entering keywords such as “What is a DNS firewall”, “why protecting the DNS” or “how to prevent data theft”. In this way, you will learn more about the advantages of protecting your network services. Innovative solutions are already available to protect your network against cyber-attacks. But first of all, industries should realise how important it is to protect the DNS.